Top 41: #20 LHP Jack Leathersich and #21 RHP Luis Mateo

After the fun and promise of far-away toolsy outfielders like Champ Stuart and Ivan Wilson and young faraway arms, this list takes a turn towards the mundane and focuses on a series of guys who are likely to be Major Leaguers relievers.

Leathersich’s stuff is ok, but it plays up thanks to a deceptive delivery. Batters just do not seam to see the ball out of his hand from a short-arm delivery. He’s picked up many of his strikeouts up in the last few years, and upper level hitters might not chase or punish those kind of elevated offerings.

Leathersich added a tick to his fastball last year, sitting 91-93, touching 95 up from 90-92, 93 in Savannah the year before. He used to work with a curveball in the upper 70s, but had a tendency to pull it outside the strike zone against lefties.2013:The move to AAA was a very tough one for Leathersich, who walked a batter an inning, and gave up more than a run an inning.

Leathersich had fairly dramatic reverse left/right splits in which he was better against righties than lefties in 2013.

2013 Rank: 14| Stats Why Ranked Here: Mateo has a big league body, big league stuff, and had Tommy John surgery in June 2013, which continues a pattern of elbow trouble. If everything clicks, there’s an elite level reliever in here for a few years. This is not Mateo’s first brush with elbow trouble – his 2008 contract with the Giants was voided due to bone spurs in the joint.

First, the good. Mateo throws hard, sitting 92-95 mph, and can touch 96 mph. His slider, which he throws frequently, could be a plus big league pitch. I saw a raw changeup in the New York Penn League.

Now, the bad. Mateo will miss at least the first half of the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He threw only 11.2 innings in 2013. Even if he returns one year post-surgery, he will throw a very limited number of innings. It’s hard to see him surpassing 75 innings, and even that feels extremely optimistic. That means at 25 entering 2015 – his next full, healthy (ideally season), he will have thrown under 100 innings in the previous two years. He cannot get to a big league rotation from that spot. Rather, his future is in the bullpen.2013: Mateo had a weird year, throwing only 11.2 innings over only four appearances, three in advanced-A and one in AA. His first start in A+, April 9 was sharp: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Promoted to AA Binghamton, his first AA start was rough: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR. He was diagnosed with an elbow strain immediately thereafter. He attempted to return in late May in advanced-A, and following a on inning, 4 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K outing on June 2nd, shut it down for Tommy John surgery June two weeks later.Dr. Pangloss Says:Very good MLB relieverDebbie Downer Says: Aggressive mechanics prevent him from staying healthy long enough to cash in on his strong arm.Projected 2014 Start: Disabled ListMLB Arrival:2015